Corrosion is a problem for many metal products, including fabricated or machined parts and guns, in addition to many other products. It is often desirable to provide a protective sleeve, sheath or similar cover to prolong the life of such products for reducing exposure to corrosive elements and other environments that may otherwise damage or shorten product life.
Gun carriers are used to store and transport guns. One drawback of gun carriers is that the walls of the carrier are solid and impermeable to moisture. As a result, any moisture or water vapour in the carrier becomes trapped in the carrier when the gun is enclosed in it.
Fabric sleeves or socks are another type of protective sleeve. Fabric sleeves are advantageous because of the ease with which they can be pulled over/off an item to be protected, and can be adapted for items of different sizes and shapes. Typical fabric sleeves protect against dust and dirt, but trap moisture and accelerate rust and corrosion of metal objects inside. A known method for inhibiting corrosion of metal objects is to treat the sleeves with silicone. Silicone within the sleeves absorbs trapped moisture reducing the amount of free water vapour in the sleeve. A disadvantage of silicone-treated sleeves is that silicone on the metal surfaces can trap water vapour on the metal surfaces and cause localized corrosion to occur. A further disadvantage is that water vapour trapped in the sleeve is free to condense onto metal surfaces, for example in response to changes in temperature.
Thus, there remains a need for an improved protective fabric sleeve which can inhibit corrosion of metal objects contained inside.